While many companies now work with large datasets, Freightos.com’s challenge was exceptional. “We receive hundreds of thousands of searches a day, and to generate quotes, we search through tens of millions of data points supplied by more than 75 freight providers,” explains Michi. “So to run the graph-search algorithms, our app needs access to high-speed in-memory data.”

Freightos.com found a solution to this challenge by using App Engine flexible environments, providing access to 200 GB of routing data. However, it realized that breaking up its monolithic services would enable its development teams to work it a much more agile way.

To do that, Freightos.com worked with implementation partner DoiT International to migrate to GKE. “DoiT International has been providing Freightos.com with consulting services and support from the beginning,” explains Tony Braun, Cloud and Geolocation Sales Manager at DoiT International. “We also support Freightos.com in using Google Maps Platform, as its software depends on Maps geo-location, routing, and place information APIs.”

Freightos.com took a multiphased approach, re-architecting its infrastructure before making the switch. Freightos.com now uses GKE with Compute Engine, Pub/Sub, and Dataflow for its application pipeline. Cloud SQL and Datastore provide operational storage, while BigQuery and Google Data Studio offer data warehousing and data visualization.

“BigQuery is the bread and butter of our analytics, enabling us to query tremendous amounts of data very quickly, with little maintenance,” says Michi. “It has helped us to do things such as put together a global container freight index. Thanks to BigQuery, we can update the index every day.”

Freightos.com also offers its platform software on a SaaS basis, so freight forwarders can quickly and easily provide shipping rate quotes to direct customers. As part of this offering, Freightos.com uses the Apigee API Management Platform with Apigee developer portal to export APIs so they can be accessed by freight forwarders. “Apigee makes it easy to export and expose our APIs, encouraging adoption amongst our customers,” says Michi.

Coordinating teams across borders

Since switching to microservices using GKE, Freightos.com is finding it easier to coordinate its development teams and increase efficiency. That’s important, because it has teams based in Barcelona, Jerusalem, and Ramallah.

“The ability to work together and collaborate closely has been transformative,” says Michi. “Working with our other development teams on projects is one of my favourite things about working at Freightos.com. It is helping to change perceptions about what is possible, in terms of working together across geopolitical divides.”

G Suite is also supporting Freightos.com’s teams in collaborating, whether that be editing in real time using Docs, or holding a meeting using Hangouts Meet. “It’s central to the way we work,” says Michi. “Almost everything that happens in the company is facilitated by Google tools.”